John Maus is an interesting man. Born in 1980 in Austin, Minnesota, he went to study music at California Institute of Arts, later studied philosophy in Switzerland and is currently working towards a PhD in political science. He has also found the time to release three albums and other recordings (around fifteen according to Wikipedia, some dating as far back as 1991). Add to this work with Ariel Pink and its clear Maus is a busy man.
We Must Become Pitiless Censors of Ourselves is the third album, scheduled for release on June 27th by Upset the Rhythm (June 28th in the US on Ribbon Music). The album is as strange as it is interesting, combining melancholy vocals with synths and drum machines reminiscent of a soundtrack to a 80s movie. I find myself getting a strange impression when listening that is hard to put a finger on. It’s almost as if John Maus is a fictional character/artist in some dystopian novel or film, part of a weird otherworldly time where past and future are confused. SPIN describe him as ‘retro-futurist’, a term I find suitably contradicting for an album like ’We Must Become…’.